Industrial applications of high flow-rate directable air blowers include (1) drying the exterior surface of a vehicle immediately after a washing operation and (2) removing dust and the like from the surfaces of manufactured products such as automobile body components prior to painting. The former application typically involves clean but otherwise untreated air whereas the latter is preferably carried out using ionized or electrically charged air to negate the static electricity which causes dust and the like to adhere to the surfaces of a manufactured article.
One commercial blower system for drying washed vehicles involves the suspension of inflatable bag-like units from an arch so that when supplied with air, they depend outwardly and downwardly from the crossbeam of the arch. The blower units have nozzle structures mounted at the free ends so as to be proximate the vehicle surfaces as the vehicle passes through the arch. The nozzle outlets are fixed in position relative to the depending bag structures and actually contact the vehicle during the drying operation. The flexibility of the bag-like structure allows them to bend as necessary to accommodate varying contact surface elevations. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,592 issued May 8, 1984 to L. G. McElroy.
It is also known to maintain a fixed orientation of the blower nozzle and air stream despite the fact that it is mounted on the free end of a pivot arm structure which moves through an arc. This is readily achieved by means of a parallelogram arm linkage; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,423 issued Aug. 21, 1990 to S. L. Larson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,018 issued Jun. 19, 1990 to D. R. Fortier et al.
In pre-painting dust removal applications, blower structures of the type essentially described above are also known. Such blower structures may further incorporate ion bars to charge the air stream. The typical nozzle, however, is largely or exclusively of metallic construction requiring insulation to ensure proper ion bar operation.